“For Me and Shafali, We Have a Huge Role to Play Going Forward” – Smriti Mandhana

Trisha Ghosal, Taunton

India’s preparations for the T20 World Cup suffered a setback as they went down by six wickets to England in the series decider at Taunton, conceding the three-match series 2-1 despite posting a competitive 180/5. While there were positives in Harmanpreet Kaur’s 50 and contributions from Yastika Bhatia and Deepti Sharma, India’s bowling attack struggled to contain the Alice Capsey–Heather Knight partnership that took the game away from the visitors.

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana addressed the media after the defeat, speaking about the lessons from the series, India’s World Cup preparations, her own form, and the areas the team still need to improve before facing Pakistan in their tournament opener at Edgbaston on 14 June.

“Me and Shafali Both Have a Huge Role to Play”

While both Mandhana and Shafali Verma have shown glimpses of form during the series, neither has managed to convert their starts into substantial contributions.

“For me and Shifu, both of us are timing the ball well,” said Mandhana. “But unfortunately, we have not been able to contribute in a big way for the team.

“But again, for both of us, I think we will go back to the nets, keep working hard and make sure that we come back stronger as an opening pair.”

The left-hand batter emphasised the importance of the duo setting the tone at the top of the order.

“Both of us pride ourselves on giving good starts and keeping the momentum going. But unfortunately, we could not do that in this series.”

Learning from the Capsey–Knight Partnership

Asked about the match-defining 137-run partnership between Capsey and Knight, Mandhana credited England’s batters while acknowledging that India failed to create enough pressure after reducing the hosts to 35/3.

“We definitely started extremely well with the ball, getting them to 35 for 3,” she said. “I wouldn’t really take anything away from the partnership they had. I think they played really good cricketing shots. They scored all around the ground.”

Mandhana felt India’s inability to string together dot balls proved costly.

“In hindsight, I would say that we could have built pressure with a few dot balls, but we were not able to do that.”

Running Between the Wickets Finally Improving

One of the notable positives from India’s batting effort was the urgency between the wickets, something Mandhana revealed has been a constant discussion within the squad.

“Our coach will be really happy with your question,” she laughed. “That’s a constant topic in our batting meetings. Before the first match, the coach said that this is the last series in which I am going to raise this point because it’s not happening.”

She added that the team has been working hard on improving its fitness levels to support more aggressive running between the wickets.

Harmanpreet’s Fifty a Major Positive

Mandhana was full of praise for captain Harmanpreet Kaur, whose half-century helped India reach 180/5.

“Harman batted amazingly well today,” she said. “When she is at her best, it’s a sight to watch. Today, I think she scored all around the ground. It was a really important innings under pressure, especially when we needed that sort of knock to get us past 180.”

With two warm-up matches remaining before India’s World Cup opener against Pakistan, Mandhana believes the team will benefit from the lessons learnt during the England series and arrive better prepared for the tournament.

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